May 4 (UPI) — Brazilian police said they had prevented a bomb attack during Saturday night’s free Lady Gaga concert on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro targeting children and the LGBTQ community.
Rio de Janeiro Civil Police said in a statement that the group behind the planned attack had spread hate speech and prepared a plan “mainly against children,” and was thwarted by a police operation named “Operation Fake Monster.”
The pop singer’s fans are known as “Little Monsters” and the concert is estimated to have drawn more than 2 million fans to the famed beach.
Teenagers were allegedly recruited by the planners of the attack to use improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails at the concert with the hopes of gaining notoriety on social media for the hate group, police said.
The alleged leader of the group was arrested on suspicion of illegal possession of a firearm hundreds of miles away in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Police said that a teenager was arrested in Rio de Janeiro for storing child pornography.
“The targets of the operation were operating on digital platforms, promoting the radicalization of adolescents, the dissemination of hate crimes, self-harm, pedophilia and violent content as a form of belonging and challenge among young people,” police said.
Authorities said that the operation was initiated by the intelligence gathering division of the Civil Police after discovering online messages using coded language and extremist symbolism.
The investigation led to the execution of 15 search warrants on nine targets across Brazil. Police said that they seized a number of electronic devices and other materials that will be investigated further.
An apparent third person was also arrested in Macaé, another city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, as part of the investigation, police said. That suspect had allegedly threatened to kill a child live on air and is charged with terrorism and inducing crime.
Police said the operation was conducted “discreetly” without notifying the public to avoid “panic or distortion of information.”
A spokesperson for Lady Gaga told CNN on Sunday that the pop star and her team learned about this alleged threat through media reports.
“Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks,” the spokesperson said.
“Her team worked closely with law enforcement throughout the planning and execution of the concert and all parties were confident in the safety measures in place.”
